The Uses of Nostalgia
Nostalgia's got a bad rap, but, in addition to being nearly inescapable, it has indispensable benefits, provided it’s kept within reasonable limits.
Old Tracks Toward New Connections
A new walking trail brings economic benefits, but its more enticing, though less measurable, value lies in the deeper, more appreciable sense of place that the rail trail should cultivate.
The Politics of Golf Carts
A polemic against golf carts might double as one against libertarian economics.
Love Is Its Own Justification: Wendell Berry and the Lure of...
Scialabba insists that our actions are meritorious and good if they are effective, if they transform society and lead to measurable improvements. Berry, on the other hand, upholds love as its own standard: human lives are good insofar as they participate in divine love’s redemptive work.
It’s a Wonderful Film
It wasn’t enough for George to stay in Bedford Falls and do the right thing; he needed to choose which values to embrace and which to reject.
Pancakes with My Father
My father cried the day his stroke began, as he lay in the emergency ward, watching himself lose his speech and his strength. He cried the day after the stroke receded when my mother and I came to see him, as he looked at us looking at the wreckage.
The Local Barber
I recently visited a barber in my Virginian hometown whom I had not patronized in more than a year (I’d taken to getting my...
Happy 60th, Bill Kauffman
". . . among the keenest minds in contemporary American letters." ---Allan Carlson
Last Rites for Local Parishes: On the Decline of Catholic Chicago
A church that prides itself on its universality—its catholicity—has served as a seedbed for hundreds of parishes divided along ethnic lines.